Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budōkai

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Dragon Ball Z: The True Martial Arts Tournament
Japanese English
ドラゴンボールZ　真武道会 Doragon Bōru Zetto　Shin Budōkai Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budōkai
Release Date	07 March 2006 (NA) 20 April 2006(JP) 25 May 2006 (EU)
Genre	Fighting
Price	4,800 円
Developer	Dimps
Publisher	Bandai (JP)(EU) Atari (NA)
Playable Characters	18
Rating	CERO A (JP) ESRB Teen (NA) PEGI 12+ (EU)
Copies Sold	170,000

Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budōkai (Dragon Ball Z: The True Martial Arts Tournament) is a 3D fighting game developed by Dimps and published by Bandai for the Sony PlayStation Portable originally released 07 March 2006 in North America and later 20 April 2006 in Japan.

Shin Budokai would be the first of several Dragon Ball titles developed by Dimps for the PlayStation Portable, succeeded the following year by its sequel Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budōkai 2 and later the movie tie-in game Dragonball Evolution.

Gameplay

Trunks fights Goku on Planet Namek

Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budōkai adapts the gameplay of Dimps Dragon Ball Z (Budokai) series. Unlike the Sparking! series which allows free roam from the player, characters here are locked solely to moving closer to their opponent, or approaching. Action typically takes place on a single plane, though the player is able to side-step around their opponent to avoid attacks or projectiles.

Players can attack with a light or a heavy standard attack, along with standard Ki attacks. Rather than inputting a sequence of combos like traditional fighting games, special moves can be executed instantly, provided the user has enough Ki to execute the move. Along with a standard block and a dodge mechanic, players can also activate a teleport to escape a combo string in exchange for energy.

Game Modes

• Dragon Road: Fight in a story scenario following the events of Dragon Ball Z Movie 12.

• Arcade: Single player arcade mode. Fight 10 computer opponents, collecting Dragon Balls as you go.

• Z-Trial: Fight under special conditions such as survival and time attack.

• Network Battle: Battle against another player using the PlayStation Portable's ad hoc mode.

• Training: Endless practice mode.

• Profile Card: Create a custom trainer card using stamps and stickers unlocked throughout the game.

Story

Gogeta confronts Janemba in Shin Budōkai's Story Mode

Shin Budōkai loosely follows the story of Dragon Ball Z Movie 12. A work accident in Hell results in the creation of the monster Janemba and the escape of various villains previously trapped in Hell. As Goku and Pikkon attempt to deal with Janemba in Hell, the other warriors fight off the escaped enemies who are now invading Earth.

Story is told in the form of the Dragon Road game mode, which has the player traversing a linear map of different scenarios. Between each fight players are shown a cutscene, and can ocassionally be offered dialogue choices that lead to branching story paths. These branching story paths award players with special cutscenes, fights and a possible alternate ending.

Characters

There are a total of 18 playable character slots (with Gohan taking two slots between his Cell Arc and Boo Arc appearances). Most characters have at least one transformation that can be chosen prior to battle and can activated during a match. Activating a character's transformation will increase the character's strength and alter their moveset.

Portrait	Name	Forms	Notes	Status
	Son Goku	Base Kaiō-Ken Super Saiyan Super Saiyan 2 Super Saiyan 3	TBD	TBD
	Son Gohan (Cell Arc)	Base Super Saiyan Super Saiyan 2	TBD	TBD
	Son Gohan (Boo Arc)	Base Super Saiyan Super Saiyan 2 Potential Unlocked	TBD	TBD
	Vegeta	Base Super Saiyan Super Saiyan 2 Majin	TBD	TBD
	Future Trunks	Base Super Saiyan	TBD	TBD
	Krillin	Base Potential Unlocked	TBD	TBD
	Piccolo	Normal Fused with Kami	TBD	TBD
	Freeza	True Form 100% Full Power	TBD	TBD
	No. 18	Normal	TBD	TBD
	Cell	Perfect Super Perfect	TBD	TBD
	Boo	Pure	TBD	TBD
	Coola	Normal Final Form	TBD	TBD
	Broli	Super Saiyan Legendary Super Saiyan	TBD	TBD
	Pikkon	Normal	TBD	TBD
	Gotenks	Base Super Saiyan Super Saiyan 3	TBD	TBD
	Gogeta	Super Saiyan	TBD	TBD
	Janemba	Normal	TBD	TBD
	Vegetto	Base Super Saiyan 2	TBD	TBD

Stages

There are a total of 7 playable stages in the game.

Plains

Mountains

Ruins

Room of Spirit and Time

Hell

The Lookout

Snowy Field

Codes & Secrets

TBD

Merchandise

Piccolo themed PlayStation Portable carrying case offered as a pre-order bonus for Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai.

Customers who pre-ordered the game in Japan were offered an exclusive Dragon Ball themed PlayStation Portable carrying case. The case came in multiple different colors.

A game guide for the game was also released by Shuiesha on 25 April 2006 as a part of their V-JUMP line of supplementary game guides.

Releases

Domestic Release

Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budōkai was released 20 April 2006 in Japan, a month after its release in North America.

International Release

The game was released in North America on 07 March 2006 and Europe on 25 May 2006 as Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budōkai (retaining the game's romanized title).

Domestic Media Coverage

TBD

Commercials & Trailers

Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budōkai - Japanese PV 1

Legacy

The game would release to fairly positive reception. Famitsū gave the game a combined score of 28/40 across 4 reviewers, with the reviewers citing its easy to learn mechanics but criticizing fights as one-note and repetitive.

Chris Roper of IGN gave the game a 7 out of 10, praising its graphical presentation and single-player campaign, while also noting the lack of depth in it's combat.

Luke Albiges of Eurogamer gave the game a 7 out of 10, with criticism aimed largely at the lack of replayability.

With the capsule system that added longevity to the PS2 games (admittedly at the cost of balance) gone, just a couple of characters to unlock to complete the roster (not including the various transformation levels that can be opened up) and your bog-standard array of fighting game modes, there really isn't that much here to keep you coming back for more.
— Luke Albiges, Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai Review, Eurogamer

The game performed moderately, selling 170,000 copies in Japan.

Additional Notes

TBD

Game Credits

TBD